Remarkable person: Chris Surdenik

Chris Surdenik was working at USN Communications when he heard about an opening at an up-and-coming Chicago telecommunications firm, Call One. When he was hired there, in 1998, the company had four employees.

Today Surdenik, 39, is president of the company, which has more than 100 employees and brought in revenues of more than $46 million in 2010. It was named one of Crain's 50 fastest-growing companies in Chicago in 2010 and 2011, and it was a finalist in 2010 for the Chicagoland Workplace Excellence Award, given by the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.

Surdenik also has worked to create a friendly workplace. The company has a social committee, a cultural committee and a "give back committee," which allows employees to choose an organization and organize fundraising efforts for it.

Surdenik's easy laugh as he talks in his office conveys the company's relaxed environment.

Q: How would you define telecommunications?

A: It is enabling people to communicate however, whenever and wherever they are, whether it's sending a data file to someone wirelessly, halfway around the globe, or if it's just calling your buddy down the street.

A: At Call One we are able to integrate multiple network providers and tailor-fit a telecommunications plan for a company. Too many times you have companies that get shoehorned into solutions that don't really fit them. We are able to put all of a company's communications needs onto one bill, so they can have one point of contact for all (their) different vendor services.

Q: Where did the idea for the Call One give-back committee come from, and what does it do?

A: The give back committee, the social committee and the cultural committee were things that I brought up in a managers meeting about five years ago. Every year the committee picks a charity to raise funds for; this year it is Aunt Martha's Youth Service Center (in Olympia Fields). Throughout the year we will have bake sales and different contests for raising funds, and then the company matches whatever is brought in.

Q: Do you think this way of organizing charitable giving creates a greater buy-in among employees?

A: Oh yeah. There is huge buy-in into it. You really see the heart of the company come out with the give back committee.

Q: You mentioned a social committee; what is that?

A: Chicago is such an amazing city, and when you live here your whole life, sometimes you can forget about all of the access we have to theater and music and food. So the social committee puts together events to go out to various places, to see different shows and do different things.

Q: Seems like you're striving to create a rounded employee.

A: People spend so much of their time at work; I want them to enjoy it.

Q: How do you stayed grounded in the face of the praise the company has received?

A: I never forget where I came from, which is Mount Greenwood on the South Side of Chicago. My family is very middle class, and they taught me that it's important to remember your fundamentals and just stay true to those.

Q: How would you describe the atmosphere of Call One?

A: It depends on the day. There are some days that are like a pressure cooker around here, and then there are other days that are light as air, filled with a lot of laughs and a lot of fun.

Q: How do you balance work and life?

A: I try to enjoy both. I try not to see either as difficult or dwell on things that are trivial or bothersome. Whether it is negotiating a contract or planning a vacation, I just try to have fun with it and enjoy it.

Q: What is your pet peeve?

A: Laziness. I have absolutely no tolerance or patience for people who are just lazy.

Q: What is the best lesson you learned from your parents?

A: To accumulate as much knowledge as possible. My mom always said it's the only thing you can ever really, truly call your own. Material things can be taken away or broken very easily.

Q: Who is your living hero?

A: I have to say my mom. Her whole body is just one big heart. She is a bundle of energy always looking for something to do or something new.

Q: How would you define innovation?

A: Innovation is something that can either involve or not involve something that already exists, but it is done in an improved way. And that's not as easy as it sounds.

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